Liverpool consolidated their position at the top of the Premier League but the victory over Newcastle was met with controversy.
BBC pundit Garth Crooks believes Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota “willfully stepped in” against Newcastle United.
Both men scored penalties in Liverpool’s 4-2 Premier League win at Anfield on Monday night.
Diaz went down in the first period after defender Sven Boseman slipped, and referee Anthony Taylor immediately pointed to the spot.
And in the last minutes of the game, when ‘Liverpool’ took the lead with a score of 3:2, Jota was defeated by the goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
Salah saw the first penalty saved by Dubravka but opened the scoring from close range and converted the second from 12 yards after tracking down Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenbirch.
The Egyptian again made the difference and was named in Crooks’ Team of the Week.”Liverpool were clearly motivated to beat Newcastle,” Crooks told BBC Sports. “Liverpool stayed top of the table without anyone noticing.
They were awarded two penalties that night. “Each incident involved two strikers, so the contact was not enough to knock down either player, but both Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota went to the ground willingly.
Jota took two steps after the contact and then they fell.
Liverpool still have three players remaining who could be recalled after Fabio Carvalho, including the signing of Julian Ward.
Liverpool still have three players remaining who could be recalled after Fabio Carvalho, including the signing of Julian Ward.
“Twenty years old you had to attack in the penalty area to win a penalty, now you just have to act like a dying swan. But Salah was the difference between the two teams. Scored a goal from open play, missed a penalty kick, scored a penalty kick and had two assists.”After the Burnley game on Boxing Day, I said that Liverpool will never have a chance of winning the title and Salah will have to wake up before the sun goes down in Saudi Arabia.
“Liverpool will be without Salah for up to six weeks after he was recalled to Egypt for this month’s Africa Cup of Nations. The tournament runs from January 13 to February 11 and includes four Premier League matches, two Carabao Cup semi-finals against Fulham and the third and fourth rounds of the FA Cup.
